A Disturbing Lack of Flora
by avidbeader
Summary: Keith screws up the courage to admit his feelings to Shiro. It doesn't go well. Then Krolia finds out about it and it gets even worse, because now Keith is supposedly dying from some weird Galra disease he's never heard of involving flowers. But there's not a petal anywhere to be seen.


**Notes:**

This story arose from a Tumblr prompt on the-random-write blog. Again, written for the growing number of followers I have at the Sheith Community on Amino!

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

 _Just do it. Just do it. Get it out in the open between you and maybe he'll stop being so… so… distant._

Keith paced back and forth in one of the castle's many observatories. His back still ached from the impact of an adversary's staff, but he could get by without a cryo-pod. He was luckier than the other three Blades that had been on the mission, all of whom had broken bones or burns from energy rifles. Jevor was in bad enough shape that they'd diverted to the castle, stationed on Olkarion, as the closest option for emergency treatment.

Keith still wasn't sure how they'd all made it back alive. The ambush had been perfectly set up. Kolivan was currently holed up with his comm officers, trying to determine whether the Empire had somehow infiltrated their network.

It had been the latest in a string of close calls. Ever since Naxzela, Keith felt like he was living on borrowed time. And the longer this... _thing_ between him and Shiro continued, the further away Shiro seemed to drift. It was affecting Keith enough that even his mother had asked if he was all right. Krolia had been keeping a respectful distance from him, allowing Keith to set the pace in getting to know her after she had left him as an infant.

Which was another irritating thing. Because she was being so careful with him, he didn't feel justified in letting out all of his anger and hurt and confusion. He hadn't even told her about how his father had disappeared, leaving Keith to the not-so-tender mercies of the state until he was old enough to try for a place at the Galaxy Garrison.

 _One problem at a time._

Keith pulled up a castle schematic and searched it. Shiro was alone in his room. It was the best situation Keith was going to get. He made his way to Shiro's door, drew a deep breath, and knocked.

"Who is it?"

"It's Keith. Can I come in?"

The extended pause set Keith's teeth on edge. Back at the Garrison, Shiro would have assented immediately and Keith would have keyed in Shiro's passcode to enter. Even here in the castle, before he had disappeared right out of the Black Lion, Shiro would have called out the affirmative and Keith would have opened the door.

Instead, Keith could hear the faintest movements as Shiro came over and the panels slid apart. He stood in the door, looking down at Keith. "What is it?"

"Can I come in? I'd like to talk to you."

Shiro shrugged and shifted to the side a little, forcing Keith to slip around him before closing the door. He crossed his arms. "What do you want to talk about?"

 _Now or never._

Keith drew another deep breath. "Us, Shiro. I want to talk about us."

"What about us?" Shiro's expression was cool, his voice flat. Keith could see where this was going but pressed on. He had to settle this once and for all.

"What's happened to us? You said when I left to join the Blade that you'd be here when I needed you. I… I don't feel like that's true anymore. So I'm asking. We used to be so close at the Garrison, and even after we ended up out here in space, you were the only person who supported me without question when things happened. So I need to know… do you care anymore? Do you care about me at all? Because I still care about you."

"You're a valuable member of this team, Keith. Of course I care."

"That's not what I meant, Shiro."

Shiro let his arms fall to his sides, exhaling with resignation. "Then the answer is no, I don't care in the way you're implying. You're a friend, one of the closest friends I've ever had. But that's all."

Keith pursed his lips and nodded. Pushing down the pain that was slicing into his throat and chest, he replied, "Thanks for being honest. I'll...I'll go now. Kolivan will be expecting me."

Shiro stood to the side to let Keith leave. He made it through the hallways unseen and slipped outside to the smallest of the available Marmoran transports. Focusing on takeoff and communicating his arrival time to headquarters kept his mind occupied for a few minutes.

But once he was en route with the hyperdrive activated and comms turned off, he let all the pain out in deep, gut-wrenching sobs.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

As if things couldn't get worse, Krolia was waiting for him in the hangar. He scrubbed the heels of his hands across his eyes, trying to erase any traces of his tears before getting out of the transport.

She paused, hesitating as always before approaching. But this time she focused like a laser on him and stepped forward, taking his face in her hands. "What happened?"

Keith tried to pull away from her touch. "Nothing happened. Nothing some bruise paste and rest won't fix."

"I'm not talking about injuries. Why are you unhappy?"

"A failed mission isn't reason enough? Let me go."

She looked at him, trying to meet his eyes. "Not this time. Something's wrong and if you don't tell me, I can't help."

His fists flew up, knocking her arms away. "You _can't_ help! Not with this! So just drop it!" He stepped around her, trying to get to the exit.

"No, Keith, not this time." She snagged his elbow with her longer reach and held fast as he tried to jerk out of her grip.

He growled in frustration, then shouted, "I'm in love with Shiro and he doesn't feel the same about me, okay? That's my problem and there's nothing you can do to fix it, so _leave me alone!"_

Krolia's mouth dropped open and her skin paled, making the purple marks on her cheeks stand out. "What? How do you know that?"

"I asked him! I couldn't take it anymore and I went to him and told him how I feel and he made it clear that it's not mutual. So if you don't mind, I'd like to be left alone so I can start trying to get over it!"

"He told you that he doesn't love you?" Her eyes were wide with...fear?

"Yes! Why is that so hard to understand?"

Her hand on his arm tightened and she began pulling him with her. "We've got to get to the medbay immediately!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Two vargas later, Keith was seething with frustration. Krolia had dragged him to the medbay and threatened to tie him down if he tried to leave. She had said one word to the medics, something that sounded like "hanaki". They had leapt into action, doing scans of his chest and asking him about any coughing or choking sensations. He had repeatedly demonstrated deep breaths without trouble and they were still huddled over the scans and talking.

"What the hell is going on?" he snapped at Krolia.

She turned to him, but one of the medics got her attention. "Everything is negative. No sign at all of symptoms developing."

"That can't be! He said so, in clear terms! He's in love and the feelings are not returned!"

"What are you _doing_?" Keith hissed, feeling his face flame red at her broadcasting his private problems.

Krolia whirled on him. "Don't you understand how serious this is? You could die if they don't operate!"

"Operate on what? They just said everything is negative! Negative is good here, isn't it?"

She shook her head. "I don't understand why the symptoms haven't manifested yet. Unless...unless it's because you're half-human! Your father never mentioned hanahaki, maybe it doesn't happen with his race."

"What does that mean?" Keith shoved himself off the examination bed, causing the two medics to dart forward as if they expected him to fall.

"For the Galra, if someone states their feelings for another person but the other person rejects them, it causes hanahaki. It's a disease in the pulmonary system, causing flowers to materialize in the lungs, continuously, to the point that the victim is coughing up the petals, unable to breathe, and chokes to death. The only cure is surgery to remove the roots, and it also removes the victim's ability to love, ever again."

Keith blinked at that. "Um...okay. Definitely not a thing with humans."

"But hybrids suffer it as well! The symptoms might be delayed by as much as a day, but they have always appeared in half-Galra as well as full Galra. Why else do you think we're so careful about showing romantic feelings? It's one of our greatest weaknesses!"

"Never occurred to me." Keith pushed past the medics, one of whom was still feeling his ribs for any signs of distress. "If there's nothing to do but wait and see, can I at least do it in my quarters?"

Krolia bit her lip, considering, and finally nodded. With a shuddering breath, she reached out and drew him into an embrace. Keith's instinct was to resist, but he tried to see it from her point. Whatever this condition was, it was dangerous and potentially fatal to the son she had only recently found again.

"Please let me or the medics know if you feel the slightest bit of trouble breathing."

"I will."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Two days later, Krolia and Kolivan hovered while the medic did a new scan of Keith's lungs. He looked up and shook his head at them. "All clear. Definitely no sign of hanahaki."

Krolia sagged in relief and Kolivan put a hand on her shoulder.

Keith had dressed in his casual clothes for convenience and reached for his T-shirt. "So, can I get back into the field?"

Kolivan shook his head. "Not yet. There's still a chance that your human half is simply delaying the onset of the disease more than we've previously seen."

Keith noticed Krolia's brows crease in worry. "I'm fine. I feel fine. And I'd really like to get back to work so I'm not thinking about my broken heart all the time."

Both of them fastened onto Keith's words and Krolia burst out, "Your heart? Is that how it's manifesting? Attacking your cardiovascular system instead?" She spun to glare at the medic, who shook his head frantically, holding up his hands in defense.

Keith groaned. "No! It's a figure of speech! It's...emotional pain, not physical. I need to learn to accept that Shiro doesn't care about me the way I do about him and it'll go away. Eventually..."

Kolivan frowned. "Wait, this is about Shiro? Why would you think that Shiro doesn't care?"

"Because he said so when I asked him! That's what started this whole mess." Keith started to feel like a bug under a microscope as Kolivan focused on his face.

"Kolivan?" Krolia had picked up on his change in demeanor as well.

"Keith, when you left Voltron, what did Shiro say?"

Keith shrugged, not wanting to remember the disappointment that Shiro hadn't argued harder about his decision. "He said the team wouldn't try and stop me, but that they'd be there if I needed them."

Kolivan's frown deepened. "He spoke in those terms? Of the team, not himself?"

"Yeah."

"Did he seek you out for a private word before you left?"

"No." That was another thing that had hurt badly.

"Kolivan, what is it?" Krolia moved to stand between them.

Kolivan looked at her. "Neither of you were there to see. When Keith went through the trials, I kept Shiro with me to observe."

Keith froze. He hadn't known that Shiro had watched him run the gauntlet, facing more and more foes in a hopeless battle to the death. No wonder Shiro—the old Shiro—had been so determined when he helped Keith up and prepared to fight through every last Blade in the base to get them out of there.

 _The old Shiro… The real Shiro…_

Keith looked into Kolivan's eyes, seeing the same suspicion that was forming in his mind.

 _It explains everything. How Black didn't respond to him at first. How his style has changed, how formal he is now. Why he put up with Coran's "shows" for so long. Why he wouldn't listen to me at all once he was flying Black again..._

"I need to talk to the others...no. No, I need to talk to Matt. Someone who's known Shiro as long as I have."

Krolia's eyes were flitting between them, growing irritated. "What is it? What are you thinking?"

Keith looked to Kolivan, who nodded his agreement and voiced their shared conclusion.

"That person in the castle can't be the real Shiro."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The plan was simple enough. Kolivan waited until there was word that the team had been called upon for a major evacuation/escort operation. With the paladins occupied, he communicated with Olia, asking if Matt could be spared to take a look at the security of the Blades' comm systems.

And the plan was blown to smithereens the moment the Black Lion hailed them.

"Shiro, I didn't expect you to come with Matt. Isn't Voltron helping with the volcanic activity on Ixim?"

"It's not a problem, Kolivan. The others have it under control. We got some unexpected help from coalition forces. And while Red may be best suited for entering your base, I'm still a better pilot than Lance."

"Better company, too," Matt chimed in. "All I did was compliment Allura on her latest hairstyle, jeez!"

Kolivan looked sideways at Keith, who was far enough away to be out of view. He gave a quick, uncertain shrug. Kolivan turned back to the comm screen. "You have plenty of time before the gates close. We'll meet you at the entrance."

He ended the transmission and turned to Zendar, the comms officer on duty. "Bring up the records of Shiro's previous visit here. The moment you have the scan, have Credak compare them thoroughly." He waved for Keith to join him and they began walking toward the lift that would take them to the surface of the asteroid. "The reason we knew you were carrying your blade the first time you came was because we scan every person as they enter the base. We keep the bio readouts. In our history, there have been a few close calls where someone managed to take out a Blade and used their suit to try to sneak in. The scans always spotted the imposter. I hope this may provide us answers."

Masks in place, they waited as the Black Lion came through the gates and landed on the asteroid. Kolivan watched the massive ship lower its head and open its jaws, letting Shiro and Matt step out, helmets sealed. As they came forward to the entrance, Kolivan felt Keith shift and narrow his focus on the lion.

"What is it?"

"Something's weird. Black is...he's agreeing with me. But I don't know what he's agreeing with."

Kolivan was grateful for his mask, hiding the flinch he couldn't control at Keith's words. The concept of a living machine that shared one's thoughts was so alien to him, it made his skin crawl. He could not understand how the paladins dealt with that so nonchalantly. Shiro and Matt joined them on the platform and it sank under their feet. Once they were inside, he and Keith dropped their masks and Matt removed his helmet.

"Kolivan," Shiro greeted him with the usual respect as he unsealed his visor. The paladin hesitated for an instant before turning to Keith and nodding a greeting. Keith made no reply.

And Kolivan noticed Matt pause and look uncertainly between them.

Under the guise of sharing information about the security concerns, Kolivan drew Matt to walk beside him, ahead of Keith and Shiro. As he talked, he kept one ear open. There was no conversation behind him for several seconds, then Shiro began, "I'm sure the team would want me to say hello. There wasn't much time to respond to Kolivan's request."

Kolivan heard a short and sharp "thanks". He noticed Matt's eyebrows draw together and realized he was paying attention as well. They entered the command center and Kolivan led Matt over to a station. He brought up schematics of the security upgrades and waved at Zendar.

"Please bring Matt up to speed on what's been accomplished so far."

The Blade nodded and began moving screens around. Matt spared one more worried glance at Keith and Shiro, who were standing several feet apart from one another.

When Credak entered a few minutes later and handed a tablet to Kolivan, he was not in the least surprised at the results of the comparison.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

 _What the hell? What in the ever-loving hell?_

Matt tried to focus on what Zendar was saying, but his instincts were screaming at him that something was wrong. Here were Shiro and Keith, finally in the same room together, and they were acting like virtual strangers. Matt thought back. Since his return, he had been around Shiro plenty of times and they'd fallen into more-or-less their old habits, though being the Black Paladin had instilled a touch of formality on Shiro's part compared to before Kerberos. He had communicated with Keith over ship-to-ship comms in that entirely-too-close call at Naxzela, and twice since when their paths had crossed briefly. Nothing in those separate interactions had prepared him for this.

Why was Keith standing a full two meters from Shiro, instead of at his side? Why had Shiro not touched him, even once? Back at the Garrison it had been a running joke that if you happened to see Keith in the locker room or showers, there'd be permanent prints on his shoulders and neck the size of Shiro's hands. The affection had flowed so easily between them; everyone could see that they had the kind of friendship and mutual devotion that would blossom into something more once they both graduated.

Keith had obviously cared enough to find Shiro when he crashed back on Earth and to follow him back into space. He wasn't sure how much choice Shiro had had in letting Keith follow him, given the circumstances. Matt recalled some of Pidge's descriptions of their early adventures and it sounded like they'd picked up where they left off. Certainly Shiro had been the first to openly support Keith after he discovered his alien heritage.

Matt brought his attention back to Zendar once more, pointing out places where a tweak in the security protocols here or there could improve things. He registered someone coming into the room to speak with Kolivan. As Matt straightened, Keith came over and put a hand on his arm, drawing him to the side.

"Can I talk to you a minute?"

Matt looked around, seeing Kolivan still in conversation with the other Blade and Shiro standing alone, studying some of the screens near him. Four more Blades entered, led by a woman with striking marks curving up her cheeks and a full head of hair around her pointed ears. He let Keith pull him away from the others.

"What's going on?"

Like a flash, Keith jumped in front of him, his knife out and expanding into a full sword. The just-arrived Blades swarmed Shiro, each grabbing an arm or leg to wrestle him down onto his back. The woman stepped forward, leveling an energy pistol at his head.

"Shiro! Keith, what the hell?" Matt tried to get by and was stunned when Keith easily blocked him with one arm. Where had the strength to hold Matt back like this come from? When had that happened?

"Kolivan?" The woman did not take her eyes off Shiro, who was wide-eyed with shock. He was visibly holding himself back from struggling against the grip of the Blades.

Kolivan looked at Keith. "The scans don't match. The biological analysis shows a being less than three deca-phoebs old, based on cellular age. The technology in the cybernetic arm is drastically simplified."

"What? What are you talking about?" Matt felt his voice go high as he tried to parse the sentences he had just heard.

Keith's stance shifted and he put a hand to Matt's shoulder, just like Shiro used to do with him.

"Whoever this is, he's not Shiro."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Keith wasn't technologically savvy enough to follow the explanations, especially when the visuals were labeled in Galra, a language in which he only had basic literacy so far. But he could see from Matt's expression that Matt understood. And Matt was pissed as hell. After all, they'd both been faked out before: Keith by the Blade during the Trials and Matt by Zarkon when they'd gone to exchange Lotor for Commander Holt.

Keith was having trouble keeping his own feelings under control. He had stopped looking for Shiro. He had stopped looking because he had found this person, this confirmed clone currently sitting in a holding cell. He hadn't questioned it when the person in front of him seemed to put his new trauma aside along with the old and get back to work like nothing was wrong.

He knew if he voiced it, he would get reasonable responses about being manipulated by the Galra, about no one realizing that cloning technology had advanced this far. Keith didn't feel like being reasonable. He should have known. He almost certainly _had_ known, deep down, and had let himself be driven away instead of staying and fighting. He had given up and left.

Keith had given up on Shiro.

Black had known. Black had held back, hadn't connected to this person until Keith forced the issue.

As if the thought had called him, Black surged into Keith's mind, hard enough to make him stagger. The intent was clear: **_come_** **.**

"Keith?" Krolia grabbed him, holding him upright. "Is it the hanahaki?"

He shook his head. "It's Black. He hasn't been in my head this loudly since… since ever." He put his fingers to his temples, trying to will the pressure away. "Not now! We have to figure this out!"

 ** _Come. Retrieve._**

His head snapped up, eyes wide. "You know where he is?" Keith ignored the strange looks he was getting as the others watched him talk to the air.

 ** _Come. Connect to him._**

"You goddamn sentient Mufasa wanna-be! How long have you known?"

 ** _Come!_**

Letting out a growl of frustration, Keith took off running, bringing his mask up as he did so. Footsteps pounded behind him, too heavy to be another Blade.

"Keith! Keith, wait!"

Matt's voice. Keith glanced over his shoulder and shouted, "Wait here or come with me, I don't care! Black says he knows how to find Shiro!"

"Of course I'm coming with you!" Matt jammed his helmet on.

They sprinted to the exit. The Black Lion was already in position, head down and jaws open. They ran in, Keith flinging himself into the pilot's seat, and the consoles sprang to life immediately.

"Whoa," Matt breathed, looking around. There were more screens up, as if the Black Lion was giving Keith greater access than Shiro…than the clone. The displays glowed with a brighter intensity, flooding the cockpit with light.

Keith grabbed the steering poles, but before he could activate anything, Black reared and vaulted from the asteroid's surface. As they sped along the path between the black holes, he tried to wrest control from the lion.

"Black, what are you doing? Where are we going?"

Matt's voice called to him, as if from a great distance. "Keith, what are you talking about? We aren't moving!"

Keith turned to look behind him. "Matt?"

He had only an instant to register that the cockpit was empty, then he was falling through space.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Keith? _KEITH!"_

Matt grabbed the back of the pilot's chair and leaned over it, running his hand over the space where Keith had been a mere second before. He looked up at the console, still bright with lavender light and multiple screens, and pulled off his helmet for a closer view.

"Where is he? What did you do?"

A screen popped up on his right, showing Kolivan. "Keith? Report, Keith! Why did you turn off your locator unit?"

Matt darted forward. "He's gone! He vanished into thin air!"

Kolivan inhaled sharply. In the background, Matt heard a harsh feminine voice curse, and Kolivan spun around. "Krolia, wait!" Rapid footsteps faded and Kolivan turned back to the screen. "I think she's headed for you."

Matt turned his attention to the controls, looking for anything that might indicate where Keith had gone. A rumble under his feet made him look up just in time to see the woman from the capture team emerge and run across to the Black Lion. He grabbed the pilot's chair once more to stay on his feet as the ship lowered its head for her.

She dropped her mask and looked around the cockpit wildly. "Where is he?"

"I don't know! He said something to Black, asking where we were going and then he was just...gone!"

She moved forward and sat in the chair, seizing the controls. "What did you do? Where's my son?"

Matt's eyes nearly popped out of his head at that, but he tried to shake off the surprise. He racked his brain, trying to remember how Pidge would interact with Green. He leaned in and put one hand on top of the woman's.

"Black, please, talk to us. Where did you send Keith?"

Words rolled across the viewscreen: _To find him._

Matt and the woman exchanged startled glances and she let go, allowing his hand to take the right-hand steering column. Operating on instinct rather than rationality, he seized that hand with his free one to solidify the link between him and the woman— _Krolia, Kolivan said her name is Krolia_.

"What can we do to help?"

 _Friend. Family. Follow them._

"How do we do that?" Krolia asked, her tone as sharp as the knives the Blades carried.

 _Reach._

Matt felt the control under his hand grow warm and a zinging sensation raced up his arm and into his chest. He tried to welcome it, hold it. Next to him, Krolia sucked in a quick breath and he knew she felt it as well. She closed her eyes, her brows creeping together the exact same way—

Yeah, Matt could see the resemblance.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After several long, agonizing minutes of falling through starry space, Keith was blinded by sudden sunshine. He saw grass flying up at him and instinctively shifted to tumble on the impact.

He rolled to his feet and unsheathed his knife. A quick look around showed no immediate threat, just grass and turned-up earth. Something nagged at his memory, but he dismissed it for the moment.

"Black? What's going on?"

 ** _Find him._**

"How?"

 ** _Reach for him._**

"How? How do I do that?" Keith swallowed against the frustration that tightened in his throat, making him think of the hanahaki illness. He couldn't imagine growing up in a society forced into such circumspection when it came to romance. Back at the Garrison, he had always thought that everyone, including Shiro himself, could read Keith's feelings like a book. He straightened, closed his eyes, and inhaled slowly to calm himself. His mother might consider it a weakness, but Keith knew differently. Love was a strength, something to be embraced, and he wasn't going to let any more chances slip away if he found Shiro, flowers in the lungs be damned—

There.

Keith moved in the direction of the sudden pull, climbing over the chopped-up ground until the grassy patches were gone and he was descending into a tiny dirt valley. There was something glowing at the bottom. The faint sense of familiarity grew. As he drew near, the glow coalesced into a dome of light, a shield covering—

"Shiro!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

 _He had no sense of how much time had passed. Days, maybe even weeks of wandering the realm where Black had taken him before, except this time there was no Black and no Zarkon. His connection to the lion was so faint. He was on a razor's edge of panic every time there was a shift in the bond._

 _He remembered it getting stronger for a little while, as if the link had doubled. And then there was the distant echo of Keith's voice, full of anger and frustration at first and then gradually shifting into authority._

 _Shiro basked in the pride he felt when he realized that Keith must be leading the team in Black._

 _And that joy turned to terror when the link slipped, Keith's presence retreating and then vanishing altogether, leaving an even weaker connection to the Black Lion in its place._

 _From that point, Shiro began to fight. He searched, calling desperately to Keith, to the others. He did find the rest of the team once, even a full visual, and thought Lance might have heard him. But the encounter left him more afraid than ever._

 _Keith hadn't been there._

 _Was Keith dead? Had he been mortally injured, too far from the castle and the cryopods? Had he contracted some illness that the pods couldn't cure due to his hybrid physiology?_

 _Shiro despaired, only continuing to reach for the others through habit._

 _After an unknown amount of time, without warning, the connection to Black surged. It pounded through him, singing at a strength that almost matched their bond at its peak._

"Black, what are you doing? Where are we going?"

 _Keith's voice. Alive and full of the fire and passion that had drawn Shiro to him from the first moment they met._

 _There was a second voice, too indistinct to pick up words, but Keith's voice sounded again._ "Matt?"

 _Matt? Had they found Matt?_

 _He wasn't prepared for the wave of sensations that engulfed him, overwhelming his nerves to the point of agony. Then Black's presence surged in again, washing the pain away and surrounding him in warmth._

 **My paladin!**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The force field disappeared the second Keith touched it, letting him through. Shiro was lying on a naturally flat area in the earth, in full armor. As Keith let his mask drop and reached for him, Shiro's face crumpled as if in sudden pain. Keith put two fingers to his throat, finding a hammering pulse, and moved to tug his helmet off.

"Shiro? Shiro, can you hear me?" Keith reached for his left hand. "Can you squeeze my hand?"

Shiro's fingers tightened around his as he convulsed, then relaxed as the pain seemed to ebb. After a deep, shuddering breath, he opened his eyes. He squinted instantly, turning his face away from the sun.

"Keith?" His voice was guttural from disuse.

Keith immediately reached into his belt pouch for the small flask of an Olkari-made restorative that all Blades carried now. He uncapped it, tipping the liquid into Shiro's mouth. Shiro swallowed reflexively, emptying the flask, and Keith circled to the other side so Shiro wouldn't be looking into the sun. He put one hand to Shiro's face and smoothed back his bangs, noting that the shielding had been acting as a cryopod to preserve Shiro's body in stasis: he had just a thin layer of stubble on his chin and his undercut was still neatly defined.

"I'm here, Shiro. I finally found you."

Shiro tried to push himself up, but his arms refused to cooperate. Keith saw his eyes widen in surprise and moved to catch him before he fell back.

"Easy, Shiro! It's been—" He broke off, not wanting to overwhelm him.

But even adjusting to being awake after so long, Shiro missed nothing. There was a flash of resignation in his eyes as he deduced that yet again, a lengthy chunk of time had been stolen from him. He looked Keith up and down, taking in the Blade uniform before zeroing in on Keith's face. He reached up and traced Keith's cheek in an arc down to his jaw. "What happened here? It doesn't look like an ordinary scar."

Keith frowned, trailing his own fingers across his skin. "What?"

"You've got some kind of...mark." Shiro moved to prop himself up on his Galra arm. Keith reached out, ready to grab him again, but he seemed to be regaining his strength.

Shiro ran his fingers up and down Keith's face, outlining a shape. "It curves, from just below your eye down…" He sat up and leaned in, brushing Keith's hair to the side. "...into your hairline. It's purple, a really light purple."

"I...I have no idea. As far as I know, it wasn't there this morning."

 ** _Red's paladin absorbed much quintessence in the journey here._**

Both of them looked up. Keith scowled and snapped, "Yeah, about that. Mind telling us just where _here_ is?"

 ** _A safe place. The betrayer's final attack disrupted the process, divided my paladin. His body reached the destination but his self did not. Red's paladin was needed._**

Keith was ready to spit nails. "So why didn't you bring me here before, after you woke up for me?"

 ** _You did not truly assume the lead in the bond until now._**

"Assume the—? Assume _this_ , you robotic—"

"Keith!" Shiro put a hand to his head, turning him to catch his gaze. "Let's figure out where we are and if we can make contact with the others."

Still seething, Keith got to his feet and held out his hands for Shiro to take. He glanced around and froze upon seeing a very familiar, crumbling white aqueduct heading away from a cliff, high over a sparkling blue lake.

"Shiro, is this… Are we on Arus?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Matt dropped to one knee next to the pilot's chair as Black took off, showing on a viewscreen the path needed to safely navigate away from the base. His fingers tightened on the controls and Krolia's hand, remembering how Shiro—the other Shiro—had to keep tightly to the guiding path to avoid the deadly obstacles that guarded the Marmora base.

The path on the viewscreen curved sharply to the left but Black flew straight off it, apparently toward one of the black holes. Before Matt could draw breath to scream, there was a strange jerking sensation through his body, an intense flash of purple light, and then his insides seemed to fall back into place. The viewscreen showed a tranquil starry expanse.

Beside him, Krolia gasped. "What was that?"

Letters flashed across the screen. _Hold on. Fastest way to them._

Before either of them could reply, it happened again. And again. And again.

Matt focused every ounce of willpower he had into not throwing up.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

There was no response from the team when Shiro tried to contact them through his helmet. Keith tried his communicator and got an out-of-range warning. Black kept sending reassurance that he was on the way, but Shiro wasn't inclined to just sit in the crater where the Castle of Lions used to be. Keith helped him climb to what had once been the courtyard in front of the castle's entrance, not far from the lion carvings that Klaizap had shown the others when they first met.

"Wait, the Arusians!"

Keith glanced over at him. "What about them?"

"Didn't Allura give them some kind of signal or distress beacon before we left?"

Keith frowned, trying to remember. "I think so? We can ask, anyway."

They started for the village, Shiro carrying his helmet so he could enjoy the sun on his face after so long in the Black Lion's realm. Keith kept one hand on Shiro, holding his arm or elbow as if he were afraid Shiro might disappear yet again. Shiro didn't object, but was having trouble holding back the rapidly-multiplying questions in his head. Why had the Black Lion brought just Keith, without the rest of the team as backup? Why was Keith dressed like a Blade? What did _absorbing much quintessence_ mean and how had it created that mark slicing down Keith's cheek?

Finally, as Keith's grip on him slid down and they closed their fingers around each other's hand, Shiro spoke. "How long was I gone this time?"

Keith looked down at the ground, being very careful about his footing on the level grass. "Not quite as long as before… But it's been months. I kept searching for you in Red while everyone else just—. We needed to bring back Voltron, so finally we all presented ourselves to Black and he woke for me."

Shiro squeezed his hand to get Keith to look at him. "Thank you. Thank you for doing that. It must have been hard."

Keith looked away before starting to speak, a tell Shiro was very familiar with. Whatever Keith was going to say next, it wouldn't be the entire truth.

"I was a terrible leader. At first I was trying to do it all on my own, insisting that the others just stay out of my way. I couldn't explain orders clearly enough. I was too impatient. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't be you."

"I'm sure it was hard. Stepping into a new position, especially one you didn't want, is never easy. But I never expected you to try and emulate me. You have your own style, your own strengths. You do have what it takes to be an excellent leader. You're amazing, Keith, and I wouldn't want anyone else taking my place in Voltron but you."

Keith had slowed his pace, and stopped as Shiro began his last statement. Shiro stopped with him and squeezed his hand again. Keith looked down and inhaled deeply before looking up.

"If I ask you something, will you tell me the truth, even if you know it's not what I want to hear?"

A frisson of uncertainty ran down Shiro's spine. Did Keith really think he had failed Shiro in leading Voltron?

He was so focused on how he was going to convince Keith on the leadership issue that the emotional whiplash from the unexpected words had him mentally stuttering.

"I love you, Shiro. I have for a long time. And I thought at one point that you felt something for me. Is that true or did I misread what was between us?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Keith was astounded that he had gotten his declaration out in a steady voice. The way his throat was closing up, he expected that he'd be hacking up flowers any minute. His heart was pounding against his ribs. But he held Shiro's gaze as he processed what Keith had just said. Shiro's eyes seemed to be darting around, taking in every detail of Keith's face, looking for something.

Then Shiro dropped his helmet and stepped forward. Digging his fingers into Keith's hair, he planted his lips on Keith's.

Keith's knees buckled from the collision of shock and relief and elation. He grabbed for Shiro's arms, trying to hold himself up. Shiro broke off the kiss and slid his Galra arm around Keith, pulling him closer and holding him tight against his own body. He slid his free hand deeper into Keith's hair and dove back in for another kiss.

Keith kissed back eagerly, joy singing through him. They finally broke apart, gasping for breath, and Keith moved to wrap his arms around Shiro's neck. Shiro bent and nuzzled his nose against Keith's, eliciting a beaming smile.

"I love you, Keith. I have for a long time. But after the way you grew up, with no stability, I didn't want to change anything between us unless you wanted it. I'm sorry if that hurt you—"

Keith hauled Shiro's head back down for a brief but firm kiss before replying. "Worth it. And it's not your fault that your clunky tank of a lion sent you halfway across the galaxy any more that it's your fault getting kidnapped by purple aliens. But it would be nice if the universe stopped jerking us around for a little while."

Shiro smiled at that and shifted his hand from Keith's hair to cradle his face. "That would be nice. Let's find the Arusians and see if they can get us in touch with the castle. I get the feeling you have a lot to tell me and we can talk while we wait."

A deep, echoing noise rumbled in the sky, not quite thunder and not quite a sonic boom. They both looked up to see the Black Lion materialize from a shimmery violet light in the sky.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Matt was completely unprepared for the sudden end to the oscillation between purple freefall and normal space. He pitched forward into the console, barely getting his arms up in time to protect his head. Krolia stayed in the pilot's seat thanks to whatever technology acted as an invisible seatbelt but was also jerked forward.

"Quiznak!" she managed to blurt out before dry-heaving violently.

Matt slid away from her, breathing shallowly through his nose to fight down his own nausea. As his gut settled, he noticed the blue sky through the viewscreen as the Black Lion descended, landing gently and lowering its head for them. He got to his feet and skidded down the ramp to find—

"Keith! Matt shouted at the smaller, dark figure standing a short distance up a hill. Then he registered the taller figure in black and white and gasped, "Shiro?"

Starting toward them, he saw it all. How close they'd been standing together. How Shiro turned to give Keith a reassuring glance, one hand pressed to his face, and handed over his helmet before taking off to meet Matt. The proximity, the rapport, the confidence in one another...it was all there.

They came together and Matt shouted as Shiro swung him up and around like in their Garrison days...or tried to. With a surprised grunt, Shiro set him down quickly. He looked Matt up and down, delight in his expression as he took in the changes. "Look at you! Are you all right?"

Matt put one hand to his stomach. "I will be as long as you don't make me hurl all over you. That lion of yours had us jumping through dimensions so fast I'm not sure I'm all here." At Shiro's concerned look, Matt laughed and pulled him in for a hug, pounding him on the back a few times. "Yes, yes, I'm fine! I'm so glad to see you!"

"Me, too! How long ago did you and Keith find each other?"

Matt glanced over, seeing that Krolia had intercepted Keith and was talking intently to him. "Pidge tracked me down, not long after—ah, Keith left to work with the Blades."

A shadow crossed Shiro's face as he looked back at Keith then up to the Black Lion. "I shouldn't have asked him to take over. But there was no one else…"

"You did the right thing, Shiro. Trust me, what happened was beyond your control _or_ Keith's control. We've got a lot to tell you."

They looked back and Shiro frowned as Keith tried to swat Krolia's hand away from his face.

"Who is that?"

Matt grinned and slung an arm over Shiro's shoulders to lead him over. "That is someone you absolutely have to meet."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Keith was smiling so hard his cheeks hurt, watching Shiro and Matt. He stayed back, giving them a chance to greet one another. Which left him with no place to go as Krolia exited the lion and made a beeline for him.

She grabbed him by the shoulders and began looking him over for injury, running her hands along his neck and arms. "What happened? The human—"

" _Matt,_ " Keith hissed as she bulldozed on.

"—said you disappeared completely, right in front of him!"

Keith tried to push her hands away, side-stepping so he could see Shiro and Matt fully again. "Yeah, apparently Black can do that if he thinks his paladin is in danger." Krolia moved in front of him, zeroing in on his face, and he stepped to the side again. She reached up and turned his face toward her.

"For god's sake, what?"

She traced an arc down his cheek, just as Shiro had. "You...you bear a mark. It wasn't there before. It's…" She touched her own face with the other hand. "It's like mine."

Keith's eyebrows shot up and he felt his face again. "It is? Black said something about excess quintessence. How bad is it?"

Krolia gave him a withering look. "I don't think it's _bad_ at all. It's about time my genetics started making themselves known."

Keith's eyes were drawn to Shiro as he continued to talk to Matt. Would this be the thing that did it? A visible reminder that Keith was not only not fully human but of the race that had taken so much from him?

"Keith? You...you didn't tell him, did you? You didn't admit your feelings?"

He went rigid and his eyes snapped back to hers. "Of course I did!"

Her eyes widened in panic. "We have to get back to the base, run diagnostics, do something!" She reached up, trying to get him to open his mouth so she could check his throat.

Keith pushed at her hand, stepping back. "It's fine! I'm fine!" He noticed Matt and Shiro approaching, Matt's arm around Shiro.

"Keith, you told him you're in love with him!"

She jumped when Shiro spoke up behind her. "I'm glad he did." He came forward and wrapped Keith up in a tight hug. "It gave me the chance to admit I love him, too."

Matt punched the air with one fist. "Finally! Keith, I swear I was going to drag him out of the ship to find you the minute we got back from Kerberos and make him propose. His pining was driving me up a wall!"

Krolia's eyes flickered uneasily between Keith and Shiro. Shiro grinned and pressed a kiss to Keith's face, right where the new mark was. Keith let a little of his tension release and put his hands to either side of Shiro's head, steering him for a proper kiss.

He noticed the evil glint in Matt's eyes before he spoke. "Oh, Shiro, you should meet my traveling companion. This is Krolia… Keith's mom."

Shiro jerked away and inhaled so sharply that he choked. He bent over, coughing harshly as he tried to clear his throat.

Ignoring Matt's giggles and Keith's glare, Krolia grimaced. "You said hanahaki was not an illness humans suffer?"

Keith patted Shiro's back and helped him straighten as his coughing fit subsided. He responded in a dry tone, "No, but meeting the future mother-in-law can cause symptoms of stress."

At that, Matt fell over on the grass, holding his ribs as he howled in glee.

It was Shiro's turn to look between them, his face red from the coughing or embarrassment or both. Keith slid his arms around him and embraced him, ignoring Matt as he caught his breath and sat up. Krolia absently held out a hand to haul him to his feet.

Keith leaned into Shiro and murmured, "I love you."

Shiro answered, "Love you, too." He put his fingers under Keith's chin to tilt his face up.

Keith shot his mother one significant look, seeing her smile in relief and pleasure, before moving in to kiss Shiro again.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

As always, thank you for reading!


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